Rolling mills



May 27, 1969 J. w. O'BRIEN Y 3,446,050

ROLLING MILLS Filed June 29, 1966 IN VEN TOR. JEREM/A/f W. aide/av ATTORNEY.

nited States US. Cl. 72-239 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure relates to a 4-high rolling mill constructed and arranged to enable both the balance cylinders of the work rolls and the work rolls themselves to be quickly and easily removed. The balance cylinders are received in replaceable carrying means that project into the windows of the mill and are carried on a ledge of the housings. The balance cylinders for the work rolls project in a vertical direction from the opposite sides of the carrier. The work rolls are removed as a unit in providing a pair of rails that run between the housings. Since the rails are stationarily mounted, they are provided with recesses that allow the work rolls to be adjusted during rolling. The work rolls are carried over the recesses during their removal and replacement by projections provided on the upper backup chock.

Background of invention It is customary in rolling mill practice to provide chocks for the rolls thereof which receive the bearings that rotatably support the journals of the rolls. These chocks usually take the form of cast steel members which are precision machined to fit within the windows of the mill. Balance cylinders are received in machine bores formed in the chocks and which are employed to urge the rolls apart to form a pass opening and urge forcibly the components within the windows into engagement with each other thereby taking up all clearances. As noted, these balance cylinders are usually mounted in machine bores formed in the chocks. In a given mill stand there may be as many as twelve balance cylinders provided, not considering the usual large number of spare chock and cylinder assemblies that are employed. Such a construction substantially reflects on the overall manufacturing cost of the mill and for which reason much attention in recent years has been given to reducing the expense incident thereto.

It has almost been mandatory in recent high-production mills to provide for the quick removal and insertion of the work rolls. In fact it has been almost mandatory that the work rolls be removed as units. In an effort to realize this objection, rails have been provided between the housings on which the work rolls are caused to engage during their removal and insertion. In this Way there need not be any auxiliary means to support the rolls as they are removed from and inserted into the mill. Presently the rails'are constructed and arranged to be displaced relative to the work rolls so that during operation of the mill the chocks of the work roll are not in contact with the rails. The adjustability of the rails must be such as to allow for the various diameters of work rolls employed.

It is an object of the present invention to provide in a rolling mill rails that extend between and are permanently secured to the housings and which are provided with recesses so arranged with respect to the operative position of the chocks of the work rolls so as to avoid any interference therewith during rolling and yet permit various diameter rolls to be employed. In the preferred arrangeatent ment the work roll chocks are provided with wheels or sliding surfaces, which extend into the recesses during rolling and wherein there is provided means for carrying the rolls as a unit over the recesses during the insertion and removal thereof until the wheels or sliding surfaces come into engagement with the rails.

It is another object of the present invention to greatly simplify the construction of the chocks wherein the customary machine bores provided therein to receive the balance cylinder assemblies are entirely eliminated. More particularly, in the present invention the balance cylinder assemblies are divorced from the chocks. The balance cylinder assemblies are in a very unique way mounted in readily detachable parts of the mill housing, and wherein during the changing of the work rolls there is no necessity to disconnect the hydraulic line of the balance cylinder assemblies.

It is further an object of the present invention to provide in a rolling mill a construction whereby the balance cylinder assemblies can be quickly changed from the mill. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a carriage designed to facilitate the rapid changing of balance cylinder assemblies for maintenance purposes.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide in combination with said rolls, a roll unit insert and retracting means, said means comprising a coupler having members for supporting it at the elevation of said rail and to one side of said rolling mill, and means for advancing said coupler through the mill to remove and replace a roll unit, and means carried by said coupler for engaging the coupler with the roll unit.

Drawings These objects as well as various other objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood when the following description of the invention is read along with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view, partly in section, of a rolling mill incorporating some of the features of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a elevational view of some of the rolling mill components illustrated in FIGURE 1;

FIGURES 3 and 4 are elevational views showing the carriage employed to effect a changing of the balance cylinder assemblies wherein two relative positions of certain elements are shown; and

FIGURE 5 is a partial plan view of the rolling mill components illustrated in FIGURE 2.

Description of invention With reference to FIGURE 1, there is illustrated one of a pair of housings 10. Since the housings and the component parts are identical, a description of only one housing and its basic components will be given. In the usual manner the housing is formed with a window 11 for receiving the roll assemblies of the mill. In the mill illustrated the assemblies comprise an upper work roll 12 received in a chock 13, a lower work roll 14 received in a chock 15, an upper backup roll 16 received in a chock 17, and finally a lower backup roll 18 received in a chock 19. It will be noted with respect to the upper work roll chock 13 that its lower portion is formed with a recess 22 in which there is received a substantial portion of the lower work roll chock 15. With respect to the upper work roll chock 13, its upper portion is provided with opposed projections 23 corresponding substantially to similar opposed projections 24 formed at the lower portion of the lower work roll chock 15.

Turning now to the configuration of the upper backup chock 17, it will be noted that it extends the full width of the Window and its sides engage liners 25. At its top it is adapted to engage the bottom portion of a mill screw 26. At this point it may be well also to call attention to the stops 27 arranged at the top of the window against which the backup chock engages when raised to the work roll changing position.

Similar to the backup chock 17, the lower backup chock 19 extends the full Width of the window 11 and its sides engage liners 28. The lower portion of the backup chock 19 rests on the housing in the usual manner. The upper portion of the lower backup chock 19 is relieved to a substantial extent at each side thereof so as to provide recessed pockets 19a within the housing window. These pockets have sufficient dimensions to provide adequate space for receiving the lower ends of the legs 20 of the upper work roll chock 13. Wheels 20a are rotatably secured to the legs 20 that also have stops 21 that support the lower work roll chock to permit changing of the work rolls as a unit.

Turning now more specifically to the work roll assemblies, it will be noted in FIGURE 1 that the upper work roll chock 13 is constructed with a width considerably less than the total width of the window 11 so that there is provided openings between the housing and the vertical opposed surfaces of the upper work roll chock 13. In these openings thus provided there are arranged readily removable insert members 31 and 32. These members are actually carried by the housing 10 wherein the housing is provided with ledges 33 and the insert members 31 and 32 with projections 34 which overlap the ledges 33 and engage the housing through complementary tapered surfaces formed on the two elements. These ledges, of course, run substantially the full width of the housing.

According to the present invention instead of the balance cylinder assemblies being mounted in the chocks thereby necessitating the extensive machining of each chock, the balance cylinder assemblies are received in the insert members which remain in the mill at all times and are adapted thus to service any number of roll assemblies that may be brought into the mill. For this purpose, each insert member at one end has two bores to receive piston cylinder assemblies 37 and 38. The piston cylinder assemblies 37 are arranged so that their pistons will engage feet 39 formed on the upper backup chock 17 and the pistons of the piston cylinder assemblies 38 are adapted to engage the projections 23 of the upper work roll assembly. In the preferred embodiment, piston cylinder assemblies are also provided in the lower portion of the insert members 31 and 32 which are, as shown in FIGURE 1, comprised of piston cylinder assemblies 42, the pistons of which are adapted to engage the projections 24 formed at the lower portion of the lower work roll chock 15. Thus it can be seen that by the operation of the piston cylinder assemblies 37, 38, 42, the upper backup chock 17 is urged against the screw 26 and the work roll chocks 13 and 15 are separated from each other to take up the clearances between the parts and assure that a true roll gap condition is obtained.

Referring now to FIGURE 2, it is to be pointed out that the elements shown therein are in their operative relation, i.e. positioned for rolling operation. It will be noted that between the housings there are provided a pair of parallel rails 43 which are received in the recessed pockets 19a of the lower backup chock 19. These rails are adapted in one instance to carry the wheels a of the work roll chock 13 and in another instance, to be later explained, the wheels of the carriage provided for changing the insert elements. The rails 43 are provided with recesses 44 at their top surfaces in the vicinity of the wheels 20a when the work rolls are in their operational position. In this construction there is provided the ability to vary the pass line of the mill as various diameter rolls are employed without creating any interference with the rails. To support the work roll assemblies as a unit and the carriage during the period that they are transversing over the recesses 44 and in still referring to FIG- 4 URE 2 it will be noted that the upper backup chock 17 inward of the housing is provided with projections 45 which receives freely rotatable wheels 46, the wheels being positioned so as to engage the lower surfaces of the projections 23 of the work roll chock 13. In order to insure that the chock will be supported by the wheels 46 and, hence, the backup chocks 17 while the wheels 20a are above the recesses 44, the work roll chocks 13 are provided with horizontal projections which serve as extensions for the projections 23 in a direction axially of the work rolls 12 and 14.

It will be appreciated that the work rolls being interfitted are adapted to be removed and inserted into the mill as a unit. Moreover, it will further be appreciated that the rails 43 are positioned to align themselves up with a platform in front of the mill and it is a feature of the present invention that there is provided means for moving the work roll assemblies as a unit axially so as to eject them from and insert them into the mill. In the work roll changing of the illustrated mill there is no need to disconnect or disassemble the balance cylinder assemblies 37, 38 and 42. It will be necessary to collapse the cylinders 38 and operate the balance cylinders 37 to raise the backup chock 17 until it engages the stops 27 to locate the backup chock in a position for changing the work rolls. In this position, the wheels 20a will align themselves with the top of rails 43 and yet be above the recesses 44. During the raising of the backup chock 17 and the upper work roll chock 13, the stops 21 are raised into a supporting relation with the lower work roll chock 15 to thereby form a Work roll unit. The wheels 46 are brought into engagement with the extensions of the projections 23 of the upper work roll chock 13 so as to support the work roll assemblies and actually carry them during the period that the work roll assemblies 12 and 14 are moved axially over the recesses 44. When the work rolls have passed the recesses, the wheels 20a will engage the rails 43 and the upper work chock 13 will pass out of engagement with the wheels 46 of the upper backup chock 17. The work roll unit, at this point, will be carried by the rails 43 and advanced out of the mill thereby facilitating the quick roll changing of the work roll. When a new roll unit is to be inserted in the mill, the above operation will be reversed.

Turning now to FIGURES 3 and 4 and in describing the carriage provided according to the present invention for facilitating the quick removal of the insert elements 31 and 32, it may be well to first point out that when the roll balance cylinders at the drive side of the mill require maintenance, it will be necessary to remove the work rolls, although this is not necessary with respect to the balance cylinders at the operators of the mill. It also should be pointed out that it is within the spirit of the present invention to provide only for receiving the work roll balance cylinder assemblies in the insert members 31 and 32. The balance cylinder assemblies for the backup chock 17 can be arranged at the top of the mill and take the form of a single piston cylinder assembly. In referring to FIGURE 3 there is illustrated a carriage 50 consisting of an upright frame 51 being of a sufficient width to approximate the width of the upper work roll chock 13 whereby it is adapted to slide between the insert members 31 and 32 when brought into the window of the mill. The frame 51 has downwardly projecting legs 52 that receive wheels 53 which in effect duplicates the construction of the upper wor-k roll chock 13. The wheels, as in the case of the upper work roll chocks, engage the rails 43 when brought to the mill.

As in the case of the work roll assemblies, the carriage is provided with projections 54 at the top thereof and are disposed to be engaged by the wheels '46 of the upper backup chock 17. As shown in FIGURE 3, the backup balance cylinders 37 have been operated to cause the wheels 46 to engage the projections 43 thereby the carrgge 50 is supported above the recesses 44 of the rails The carriage 50 carries a jack 55 which is connected to a slidable platen 56 to which there is secured horizontal supporting platforms 57. The platforms, it will be noted, have plugs 58 which are adapted to be received in corresponding openings 59 formed at the bottom of the insert members 31 and 32. In this construction on the operation of the jack 55, the plugs 58 are brought into lifting relationship with the insert members thereby to lift the insert member off the ledges 33 formed on the housing. As this occurs, it will be noted that the carriage 50 also is provided with opposed hook-shaped members 62 having downwardly extending portions which fit into openings 63 formed at the top of the insert members. In this arrangement, as the insert members are lifted simultaneously off the ledges 33 of the housing, the members 62 are received in the openings 63, thereby to hold the insert members against the frame 51. Once this occurs, the carriage may be moved axially of the backup rolls during which time, as in the case of the work rolls, the carriage is first carried by the wheels 46 of the backup chock 17 while the carriage is passing over the recesses 44 of the rails 43 after which the wheels 53 will engage the rails and be supported thereby and the carriage will be advanced out of the mill over the rails. It will be noted that during the changing of the balance cylinder assemblies 37 for the backup chocks, a clamp 65 is provided to hold the backup chock in the vertical position so as to allow the insert members to be removed and the balance cylinder assemblies 37 collapsed.

As heretofore indicated, a feature of the present invention is to provide an improved motivating means to facilitate rapid replacement of the work rolls and their chocks, as well as other elements, such as the insert elements 31 and 32, by the carriage 50. In this respect reference is now made to FIGURES 2 and 5 where there is shown at the driven side of the mill a shuttle coupler 70 having a plurality of wheels 71 at each side thereof that engage an extended portion 43a of the rails 43. Connected to the coupler 70 is the rod end of a piston cylinder assembly 72 employed to transfer the shuttle coupler into and out of the rolling mill over the rails 43. It will be appreciated that by reason of the spaced Wheels 71, the coupler will bridge the recesses 44 when advanced thereover.

The coupler is formed with a vertical surface 73 at each side thereof for engaging similar vertical surfaces 74 formed on horizontal arms 75 extending from the adjacent side of the upper work roll chock 13. These arms, it will be seen from FIGURE 2, are L-shaped and are selectively engageable with complementary L-shaped arms 76 carried by the coupler. Each of the arms 76 is pivotally carried by the shuttle coupler 70. The arms 76 are interconnected by perpendicularly arranged links 77, having their adjacent ends in turn secured to a common piston cylinder assembly 78, whereby operation of this piston cylinder assembly displaces the L-shaped arms 76 into and out of engagement with the arms 75. In this manner the shuttle coupler is selectively connected to the work roll chock 13 preparatory to the ejection and insertion of the work rolls as a unit. While not indicated in the drawings, it is to be appreciated that the carriage 50 is also provided with L-shaped arms similar to the arms 75 formed on the work roll chock 13 so that the carriage, as in the case of the work roll chocks, can be selectively connected to the piston cylinder assembly 72 for move ment thereby.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle and operation of my invention and have illustrated and described what I consider to represent the best embodiment thereof. However, I desire to have it understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. In a rolling mill including a pair of housings, each formed with windows,

upper and lower bearing chock assemblies received in said windows for rotatably supporting a cooperative pair of upper and lower work rolls,

replacement insert members discrete from said bearing chock assemblies and carried by said housings in a manner whereby said members are arranged to project from said housings into said Windows,

said housings including a support surface,

said members including support surfaces, said housing and member support surfaces engaging each other for securing the members to said housings in their operative positions and in which positions said members are movable relative to said housings for their quick removal and replacement from the housings, and

roll balance cylinder assemblies received in said members for engagement with the bearing chock assemblies of at least one of said rolls.

2. In a rolling mill according to claim 1, wherein said support surfaces of said members comprise a projection extending from said insert members in the direction of the most adjacent portion of the housings, and

said support surface of said housings comprising a ledge formed in said housings for receiving said projection to support said insert members whereby said members are readily removable and replaceable from said housings by withdrawing said projection from said ledge.

3. In a rolling mill according to claim 1, including means for engaging and assuming a supporting relation with said insert members to move them relative to said housings whenever said members and said balance cylinder assemblies received therein are to be removed from the housings.

4. In a rolling mill according to claim 1, in which the bearing chock assemblies for said upper work roll have recesses for receiving the bearing chock assemblies of said lower work roll,

said bearing chock assemblies having a width less than the width of the associated windows so as to-form an opening into which said insert members are arranged,

each of said bearing chock assemblies for the upper work roll having horizontal projections overlapping said insert members for engagement by said balance cylinder assemblies,

said bearing chock assemblies for the lower work roll having horizontal projections overlapping said insert members, and

other balance cylinder assemblies receiving in each of said insert members and engageable with said overlapping projections of the lower work roll bearing chock assemblies.

5. In a rolling mill according to claim 1, including upper and lower backup rolls for supporting said upper and lower work rolls, respectively,

bearing chock assemblies received in said windows for rotatably supporting said backup rolls,

backup roll balance cylinder assemblies received in said insert members and adapted to engage said bearing chock assemblies for said upper backup roll.

6. In a rolling mill according to claim 3, including a pair of rails supported by said housing and extending through the windows thereof,

said engaging and supporting means for said members including a carriage,

wheels on said carriage for engaging said rails,

said carriage being so constructed and arranged to pass into the window of at least one of said housings when said upper and lower rolls and their bearing chock assemblies have been removed.

7. In a rolling mill according to claim 6, including a vertically displaceable platen carried by said carriage,

support means projecting from said platen for engaging said insert members,

power means connected to said platen for moving said support means relative to said carriage,

whereby said support means can be positioned to move said insert members relative to the housings to separate the support surfaces for removal of the insert members from the mill on the retraction of said carriage.

8. In a rolling mill according to claim 6, including a power means for moving said carriage into and out of said window of said mill,

a disengageable coupler adapted to connect said power means to said carriage and movable through the windows of said mill,

said coupler having wheels engageable with said rails over which said coupler moves during its travel through said windows.

9. In a rolling mill according to claim 6, in which said rails are secured to said housings below said lower bearing chock a ssemblies,

said upper bearing chock assemblies having a recess formed therein into which is received said lower bearing chock assemblies,

downwardly extending legs formed in said upper bearing chock assemblies,

wheels secured to the ends of said legs and engageable with said rails, whereby said upper and lower chocks and rolls are removable from said windows on said rails as a unit, and

stop means for preventing said lower bearing chock assembly from passing out of said recess in the upper bearing chock assembly to thereby form a work roll unit.

10. In a rolling mill comprising:

a pair of housings having windows formed therein,

bearing chock assemblies received in said windows and rotatably supporting upper and lower work rolls,

means carried by said housings for adjusting one of said work rolls relative to the other,

means carried by the bearing chock assemblies of one of said rolls for cooperatively engaging the bearing chock assemblies of the other of said rolls, whereby one of said bearing chock assemblies supports the other to form a working roll unit during removal of said rolls from said housings,

wheels rotatably secured to the bearing chock assemblies for one of said rolls,

rails supported by said housings and adapted to support said wheels during at least a portion of their travel along said rails,

said rails having recesses for receiving said wheels incident to positioning of at least one of said rolls by said roll adjusting means, and

means for supporting said bearing chock assemblies while being advanced across said recesses incident to removing and replacing of said rolls.

11. In a rolling mill according to claim 10, in which said upper work roll chock assemblies are provided with recesses for receiving the chock assemblies of said lower work roll, said upper work roll chock assemblies having downwardly extending legs to which said wheels are sesured,

said bearing chock assemblies of the upper backup roll are provided with wheels,

said work upper roll bearing chock assemblies having horizontal projections adapted to be engaged by said wheels for supporting said work rolls as a unit at least during the passage of said wheels of said work roll chock assemblies over said recesses in said rails, while said roll unit is being removed from and replaced into the mill.

13. In a rolling mill according to claim 10, further comprising:

power means for moving said rolls and their chock assemblies as a unit into and out of windows of said mill,

a disengageable coupler adapted to connect said power means to one of said work roll bearing chock assemblies,

said coupler having wheels engageable with said rails over which said coupler moves during its travel through said windows.

14. In a rolling mill having windows,

bearing chock assemblies received in said windows and rotatably supporting upper and lower work rolls, the chocks of one of said work rolls having a pair of downwardly extending legs,

a pair of wheels secured to the lower legs,

rails supported in said housings extending through said windows and adapted to be engaged by said wheels,

means carried by the bearing chock assemblies of one roll for cooperatively engaging and supporting the chocks for the other roll during removal of said work rolls as a unit,

power means arranged adjacent one side of the mill for moving said rolls and their chocks as a unit into and out of windows of the mill,

a disengageable coupler adapted to connect said power means to one of said work roll bearing chock assemblies,

said coupler having wheels engageable with said rails over which said coupler moves during its travel through said windows.

ends of said References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,171,304 3/1965 Sims et al 72238 3,204,443 9/ 1965 Kalberkamp 72239 3,208,260 9/1965 Sieger et a1 72239 3,312,096 4/1967 Stubbs et a1. 72238 CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner.

A. BUDERMAN, Assistant Examiner. 

